Opera 10.1 for Maemo (N900)

Announced on the Maemo Talk forums here, fans of Opera’s web browser can grab an updated version for Maemo from the extras-testing (or extras-devel for N8x0 users) repository as of today.

Here’s a copy and paste of the changes detailed in the forum post:

• Geolocation support.
• Javascript JIT support.
• Fix garbage display after rotation due to incorrect stride.
• Fix monospaced font in UI elements.
• Fix display of Asian fonts in UI elements.
• More efficient socket handling, decreases CPU usage slightly.
• Suspend JavaScript, animations etc. when screen saver activates.
• Reduced tearing while panning.
• Fix proxy server mixup.
• Fix crash when reading proxy settings.
• Upgraded Opera Core, including many bugfixes
• Many bugfixes to the UI

And the currently known issues:

• Somewhat higher memory usage, especially on JavaScript intensive sites.
• Due to timing issues with different geolocation information providers (WiFi, cell towers, GPS) first request may have poor precision.
• Fast scrolling not optimized for page rendering.
• Adobe Flash and other plugins are not supported.
• Screen tearing may be visible when panning, especially in portrait mode.
• The built-in on-screen keyboard is not supported. Use the physical keyboard or the on screen keyboard included with Opera Mobile.

The improved CPU handling is definitely a move in the right direction, though I’ve not tried it myself yet. I don’t think it’s going to replace the built-in MicroB for me yet, but it’s well on the way. I’m particularly impressed, however, at Opera’s support for a platform where Nokia abandoned them a few years ago (for better or worse).

Tags: Maemo, Maemo 5, N800, N900, Opera

Category: Maemo, Nokia